The Door to Light
by 7Knight-Wolf
Summary: Very short one-shot. Sora contemplates the mysterious door that saved him from an eternity in Darkness. He learns the truth about Light.


**The Door to Light**

Looking back, I still remember it with perfect clarity. Riku and I were actually happy, there in the Darkness, because we trusted in something. I'm not sure what it was we were trusting…but whatever it was, it opened the Door to Light. No, it _was_ the Door to Light.

Just for a moment, I could feel something strange inside myself. It had happened before, when that voice spoke to me saying, _You are the one who will open the Door._ It was a connection with something greater; it was my soul being touched by a strange voice.

I asked Riku what the Door to Light really was. It surprises me how wise he is, behind all that attitude. He knows what he believes now, and will stake his life on it. He can survive seasons of darkness because of the light inside him.

His green eyes sparkled, and his strong, nervy hand reached out and touched my chest. "It's always closer than you think," Riku had told me.

I didn't understand him at first. We didn't have time to discuss it further, before Kairi ran up with the message. We were surprised about its contents, but I was only half-attentive. My mind was focused on projecting the image of the Door to Light again and again.

_Riku must have been talking about my heart_, I told myself. The part of one's consciousness that yearns and craves and feels emotion. The part of one's consciousness that Nobodies are incapable of possessing. The part of one's consciousness that Heartless try to enslave and bend to the Darkness. My heart—the center of my emotions—did _that_ open the Door to Light?

No. Alone in my power, it is impossible to create a force so great it could conquer the Darkness without effort. I definitely don't own that kind of power. I also realized that I was hearing the voice in my soul wrong too. I thought it had been saying, _Sora, you will open the Door to Light_. In a way, that's true. By my submission to the greater force, I allowed the Light to become real inside of me. It was _my _choice. Once I made the choice, the power of Light itself opened the Door.

What is this greater power: the Light that gifted me with the Keyblade? The Light that has saved me time and time again? It's in my soul, a little piece of eternity. Every time I surrender to the will of the Light, impossible things happen. When Kairi's letter came to Riku and me in the Darkness, I knew how much I loved her. So, out of desperation, I gave into the Light. Instantly the Door opened, and it called to me with a joyful voice. "We'll go together," I told Riku, and we did.

I don't fully understand the forces of Light and Darkness. All I know is that the Light exists, and it's good. It is in everything; there are even fragments of the Light inside our souls. If you get in touch with the Light, it will save you and guide you. As humans we prefer to walk in Darkness, and sometimes we end up there by mistake, too. But the Light is there to redeem us.

That's what the Door to Light really was. Deliverance, not of my own creation.

Riku understands this—and so do I. We're going to keep learning about the Light. We won't ever have to use the power of Darkness, but will be able to survive the Darkness. Let me guess—you don't understand the last part? That's okay: there are a lot of people who don't get the difference between using Darkness and braving the Darkness.

Using the Darkness is the fatal mistake that destroyed many people, even Maleficent, at least for a while. Nobody can redeem the Darkness by themselves. Riku tried. He used its power to do many things, but in the end, it swallowed him too. I gave myself to the Darkness to save Kairi, but both Riku and I returned to ourselves because of the Light. When anybody gives into Darkness, his heart will be stolen. He will lose his mind too, and yes, even his soul will be immersed in Darkness.

That's where the Light comes in. For some reason I'll never understand, the force of Light wants to save us from our misguided attempts. I trained myself to believe in Light and to trust in it, and that's what made my heart strong. The Light saw fit to give me the Keyblade…but for a long time I wondered what to do with this gift.

First, I tried to use it to prevent Darkness from spreading. During my first adventure, when Xehanort's Heartless was spreading Heartless, I locked each world to keep it safe. But that was only a temporary fix. After my year's sleep, it was the Nobodies who were manipulating and encouraging Darkness. I used the Keyblade to defeat Xemnas, and I guess that's good. However, I wondered in the hours his defeat, I wondered what the Light intended me to do next.

Just a few minutes ago, Kairi came and sat beside me. Her blue eyes sparkled and made me feel weird on the inside. She looked at me. "Sora, I'm glad you chose the Light."

"I didn't really open the Door," I replied. "I chose for the Light to work _through _me, you know?"

She nodded. "I understand. I'm one of the Seven Princesses. That means I have a special duty, to let the Light work through me. When you were saved from being a Heartless, that's what happened. I just…sort of…gave in to the power."

I smiled. "Well, the Door to Light was pretty amazing."

She grinned back, her flaming red hair brilliant in the summer sun. "Yeah. Imagine all the good it could do, letting all of the slaves to Darkness get to feel the Light."

My draw dropped. I realized the significance of what Kairi had said. This Door to Light thing wasn't all about me: it wasn't just about saving _me_. I could walk in the Darkness and spread the Light to others. That's not using the Darkness at all. It's braving the Darkness, so other people can understand the Light.

Suddenly all of my adventures made sense. In my first adventure, I had learned of the weakness of mortals; how prone they were Darkness. I also learned that everybody has a connection with the Light. In my second adventure, I learned about choices. Everybody has to make a choice what they want to do with their own hearts: how to live, how to act, whether or not to follow the Darkness. I chose Light. Riku chose that too, although his struggle for answers was much greater than mine. I shudder to think what he suffered in the Darkness, ashamed of what he was but unable to change. If only more people would choose the Light!

"Don't get all inspired yet," Riku interrupted. His voice still had its old charm, but it sounded somehow more peaceful. "I know what's going trough your mind, Sora. But remember, you're a warrior. That message is proof that we're not done yet. We do have to spread Light—but that also means fighting against injustice."

I sighed, slightly disappointed. The Keyblade felt heavy in my hands, and I wondered if I would ever have any time for relaxation. I looked at Kairi. She was so beautiful, and I could see a little bit of the force of Light in every breath she took. I could see it in myself too: it was love. A great sense of peace of washed over me.

"Duty calls," I said after a moment of heavenly silence. "Let's go."


End file.
